Stories by Peter Uzoho
Rising fuel and transport costs, energy security and competition will dominate discussions as Oil Trading & Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Energy Week marks its 20th anniversary with the upcoming 2026 edition.
The anniversary edition themed “Secure Energy, Shared Prosperity,” will hold in Lagos, bringing together policymakers, regulators, investors and operators to examine how Africa can translate its expanding refining capacity into reliable supply and affordable energy at a time households and businesses are under pressure.
Chairman of OTL Africa’s Advisory Board, Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, urged the federal government to avoid a return to petrol subsidies and focus relief on areas where Nigerians hurt most, particularly public transportation.
Oyebanji warned that suppressing pump price to ease hardship could trigger scarcity, diversion of products to higher-priced markets and weaken investor confidence in the downstream sector.
He said the government should target interventions at pain points rather than distort pricing.
He said supporting transport operators would directly reduce fares for commuters while preserving market stability.
Oyebanji acknowledged that deregulation has exposed consumers to higher prices but noted it has ended long queues and supply disruptions that characterised regulated pricing.
He cautioned that artificial price fixing would punish investors who borrowed heavily to build refineries and infrastructure on the expectation of cost recovery.